Vinyl films plasticized with plasticizers have been used for many years in adhesive labels, tapes and decorative sheets. Vinyl films, particularly polyvinyl chloride (PVC) films, have had wide acceptance for such applications because, among other things, they are inexpensive and weather resistant and can be colored easily with pigments and dyes. In addition, plasticized polyvinylchloride has had particularly wide acceptance because its properties can be modified over a wide range by the incorporation of plasticizers. These films have been used in various graphic applications with success. When the films are used in the application of large format graphics onto commercial vehicles or vans with deep/corrugated body panels, the films must conform and adhere to the shape of the truck or van, and must also conform and adhere to the various imperfections and/or bolts and nuts on the surface of the truck or van. A graphic which is applied to an uneven substrate must conform through elongation to adhere to the surface. Without good adhesion, the graphic will lack integrity, and weather conditions will cause separation and failure. Additionally, if the graphic is not conformable, it will present an unacceptable aesthetic appearance. Additional plasticizers can be added to the PVC formulation to make the film soft and flexible, but too much plasticizer in the formulation can be a problem because the migration of the plasticizer into the adhesive coating. Also, the adhesive properties may be altered or destroyed when the plasticizer migrates from the polyvinyl chloride into the adhesive coating.
Although vinyl films have been useful in graphic applications because of their superior flexibility and conformability, there is a continuing need to develop films which do not contain PVC. The halogen-containing materials such as PVC have generally been recognized as producing undesirable by-products when burned.
The invention described herein relates to the use of non-halogen containing polymers for preparing conformable films which are flexible and which exhibit increased conformability over corrugations and into the recessed areas of van and truck body panels.